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The decisions were made about six months apart, independent of each other. But in a little way, both of them were heartbreaking.

Brad Sinopoli had a meeting with his coach, John Hufnagel, just after the 100th Grey Cup game in Toronto. Hufnagel told him there was no place for him as a quarterback on the Calgary Stampeders.

“He gave me an option,” said Sinopoli. “He said I can continue playing quarterback, but I’d have to get picked up somewhere else to do it, or I could come back to the team and try my luck at receiver.”

Before this disastrous season began for the Montreal Alouettes, they wanted Kyle Quinlan at training camp. They wanted to look at him as a quarterback. They believed with the right coaching, the right development, he had a chance to make it — imagine that, a CFL team believing in a Canadian quarterback?

Quinlan had watched what had happened to Sinopoli, to the two-time Hec Crighton winner Tommy Denison, to three-time winner Chris Flynn, to just about every Canadian with a dream … and he declined to sign with the Alouettes. Quinlan decided he would rather further his education, becoming a part-time assistant coach at McMaster rather than giving it a shot.

“I was a fan of Kyle’s when he played CIS football, and I wanted him to succeed,” said the 6-foot-4 Sinopoli in a phone interview. “I know some people are upset (he didn’t go). But if he’s not happy doing that, it’s not everyone else’s place to judge.

“It’s hard to be a QB in the CFL. There are only 24 spots. There’s only eight starters. There’s not a lot of time for development. You’re in the business of winning. The focus is all on today.”

And today, like yesterday, and the day before that, there are no Canadian quarterbacks in the Canadian Football League. When the Argos play the Stampeders on Friday night, it is assumed Sinopili, the former Hec Crighton winner, or winner of Canada’s Heisman Trophy equivalent, will line up as receiver for the Stamps, while Quinlan, maybe the most electrifying CIS QB I’ve ever seen, will be in training camp with McMaster, working with the latest recruits.

Sinopoli doesn’t look back at his opportunity lost as anything sad. He took his shot. Hufnagel was straight with him. If he wanted to play pro football, he had to change his position.

Once upon a time, in the U.S., the same thing was said to Warren Moon. He couldn’t play quarterback in the NFL. He was black. That was a more pronounced sense of prejudice than this is.

This is about development. This is about patience. This is about belief. But also, it’s about breaking down a longtime stereotype. There was Russ Jackson, the legend, and really no one else. For a short time, there might have been a Gerry Dattilio, a Greg Vavra, a Luc Tousignant, but no one with the staying power — or in Jackson’s case — the star power.

Quinlan might have had that, if given the time, the coaching, the reps and all that goes along with developing a quarterback. Not long ago, there weren’t many starting Canadian tailbacks in the CFL. Now, with Jon Cornish, Andrew Harris and Jerome Messam — there are three good ones. It isn’t the same with a quarterback: The stigma doesn’t exist. The questions, such as will you sign him, will you play him and will he get a chance, don’t become a daily distraction at running back.

“People always look back and say, Russ Jackson did it, so why can’t someone else do it,” Sinopoli said. “We all know who Russ Jackson is, even if he was before our time. A lot of it has to do with timing, right place, right guy, right situation …

“I never really looked at this as a Canadian-American thing. I didn’t think of it that way. I just tried to focus on what I had to do, I didn’t think of myself as a Canadian going up against Americans. People can talk all they want about the Canadian quarterback situation — but I was just a quarterback trying to play.

“One day, I might look back and say I almost made it. But I don’t look at it that way now.”

Canadians have never played quarterback better than they are playing it now. In recent years, the OUA alone was blessed with Quinlan and Sinopoli and Michael Faulds and Danny Brannagan and Justin Dunk — all of them record setters.

No jobs for some. No belief from others they would get the proper opportunity to make it.

Slowly, the CFL is making progress. It is now inviting CIS quarterbacks to training camps to further enhance their skills and development. The next step should be adding a position to the roster - which doesn’t count against the salary cap — for those who wish to develop a Canadian quarterback.

Some quarterbacks want that, but Sinopoli, no longer a quarterback, doesn’t want that.

“I would want to know I earned my spot,” Sinopoli said. “If I’m good enough to play, I want to make it on my own. I’m not sure about reserving a roster spot.”

Really, Sinopoli says, it’s all about timing.

“Luck has a lot to do with it, too. Would we all be talking about Tom Brady today if Drew Bledsoe hadn’t been hurt?” Sinopoli said. “No one was talking about how great he was. He got the opportunity, and he took off.”

Sinopoli dressed for 29 games as the Stamps’ third-string quarterback and held for field-goals and extra points but never threw a pass in the league. Not one. In his first season as a receiver, he has caught nine passes for 129 yards.

“I just want to play football,” Sinopoli said.

He doesn’t care to be a symbol or a political figure. He wants to catch passes. At that position, no one will make a big deal over where he comes from.

CANUCK QB ROSTER

Brad Sinopoli is one of the few marquee CIS quarterbacks in recent years to enjoy a successful run — albeit at a different position — in the CFL. Here’s a look at how others have fared after college careers in recent years:

Calgary Stampeders' Brad Sinopoli caught on in the CFL — but not in a pivotal way

The decisions were made about six months apart, independent of each other. But in a little way, both of them were heartbreaking.

Brad Sinopoli had a meeting with his coach, John Hufnagel, just after the 100th Grey Cup game in Toronto. Hufnagel told him there was no place for him as a quarterback on the Calgary Stampeders.

“He gave me an option,” said Sinopoli. “He said I can continue playing quarterback, but I’d have to get picked up somewhere else to do it, or I could come back to the team and try my luck at receiver.”

Before this disastrous season began for the Montreal Alouettes, they wanted Kyle Quinlan at training camp. They wanted to look at him as a quarterback. They believed with the right coaching, the right development, he had a chance to make it — imagine that, a CFL team believing in a Canadian quarterback?

Quinlan had watched what had happened to Sinopoli, to the two-time Hec Crighton winner Tommy Denison, to three-time winner Chris Flynn, to jus